CEE.AI Lab kickoff is behind us!
Between April 23–25, 2025, we the opening workshop of CEE.AI Lab took place in Warsaw — a three-day event that kicked off an exciting journey into the responsible and impactful use of AI in journalism.
Held at Outriders Klub, this first in-person gathering brought together 20 media organizations from 12 countries across Central and Eastern Europe. The goal: to map the challenges, opportunities, and aspirations around artificial intelligence in newsrooms — from editorial workflows to audience engagement and strategy.
The program opened with a legal and ethical deep dive led by Dr. Paula Skrzypecka, clarifying how the AI Act, DSA, DMA, and GDPR intersect and impact AI-powered journalism. After that, participants engaged in hands-on workshops with Michał Tomaszkiewicz (Eurozet Group) and Natalia Żaba (Google News Initiative), focusing on AI experimentation, newsroom use cases, and strategy planning.
The kickoff also gave space for a discussion panel led by Jakub Górnicki (Mixer Media and Outriders), where participants could articulate their goals and needs — which will shape the future stages of the CEE.AI Lab.
What participants said:
“Two days of sharing knowledge & experience with magnificent colleagues went by so fast! Thanks to the Mixer team for collecting us together. I’ve noted many ideas that we can use in Hrodna.life newsroom.”
“I’ve already learned a lot about how AI can help provide more value to our audience and empower quality journalism — not replace it.”
“Small talks with newsrooms from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova about how they are navigating AI realities will stay with me for a long time.”
“Sharing ideas, experiences, and a few laughs was energizing and inspiring. A special thanks to the organizers — Mixer media team — for creating such a welcoming and cozy space.”
The next months will be dedicated to co-developing AI strategies, sharing newsroom experiments, and supporting ethical innovation in journalism across the CEE region. Our next meeting in person is planned for June. Stay tuned!
Media participating in the program:
Darik Digital (Bulgaria), Denník Postoj (Slovakia), Diez.md (Moldova), FactCheck.BY (Belarus), Gazeta.pl (Poland), Hrodna.life (Belarus/Poland), HVG (Hungary), The Kyiv Independent (Ukraine), LRT (Lithuania), 24 Hours (Bulgaria), MOST Media (Belarus), Naujienu centras (Lithuania), NewsMaker (Moldova), ȘTIRILE TRANSILVANIEI (Romania), Spider’s Web (Poland), Texty.org.ua (Ukraine), TVNET GRUPA (Latvia), Tygodnik Powszechny (Poland), WAS Media (Ukraine), XYZ.pl (Poland)